Introduction: Given the widespread prevalence of concussions in children under the age of 19, the adolescent perspective, as well as an understanding of the mechanisms behind traumatic brain injury (TBI), is extremely important. The authors sought to assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes regarding concussion among middle school children and whether a brief educational intervention based on clinical data and science resulted in a change of their knowledge or attitudes towards concussions.
Methods: A 20-question survey design was administered before and after an educational intervention. The surveys were anonymous, but they were paired so that it was possible to correlate the pre- and post-test answers to the respondents. An eighth-grader at a Florida middle school conducted this study after school hours after the student and their parent or legal guardian signed informed consent. This project was approved by the Science Department at Howard Bishop Middle School in Alachua County, Florida. JMP® 14.0 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used for statistical analyses.
Results: The cohort was 64% female, age range: 13 - 15, and consisted of local eighth-grade students. Forty-three percent never wore a helmet when riding a bicycle or skateboard. Only 68% knew that the state had a helmet law for kids. Participants were significantly more likely to feel they had good TBI knowledge after the intervention (p = 0.0005, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1937 to 0.6863) and that the didactic lectures changed the way they thought about safety (p = 0.0034, 95% CI 0.1025 to 0.5175). Students reported that their mothers (vs. fathers) were significantly more likely to wear seatbelts (p = 0.05, 95% CI 0.0036 to 0.5036), and they themselves reported wearing seatbelts more often after the survey.
Conclusions: There still exists a knowledge gap when it comes to pediatric concussion. Expanding awareness is important in order to bolster safety measures among adolescents.
Keywords: adolescents; concussions.